Discover fun and educational events happening this week in Western Mass, along with announcements, upcoming events, links, resources and the HFVS podcast.
SUGGEST AN EVENT
If you have a community event, educational program or service opportunity for youth/families happening in Western Massachusetts that you’d like to let us know about, post your event on our “Suggest An Event” page. The events below are “suggested.” Please take the time to confirm that these events are happening, along with time, place, age appropriateness and costs before attending.
Serving Western Massachusetts since 2005, Hilltown Families supports development and enhancement of our local economy and community. Local businesses, individuals, schools and non-profits are encouraged to partner with Hilltown Families through sponsorship and advertising. Let us help get the word out about your after school/homeschool class, event, camp, workshop, fundraiser, business/school, service, open house, volunteer opportunity or general announcement. Deliver your message to thousands of families living throughout the four counties of Western MA while supporting the community development work of Hilltown Families. Click HERE to find out more.
BEST BETS
Saturday Morning Music Party: March 16th Hilltown Families & Flywheel present another Saturday Morning Music Party in Easthampton!
Saturday, March 16th from 10am-12noon - MUSIC PARTY: Hilltown Families and Flywheel Presents a Saturday Morning Music Party with special guest, Shiprock & Anchordog. Bring the family for another family friendly morning of live music & free pancakes! Local group, Shiprock & Anchordog will bring us a mixed media performance of theater and video set to music in the Americana vein about the story of two dog heroes and their adventures through forests, oceans and dreamscapes. Free pancakes will be flipped onto your plates beginning at 10am. Kids of all ages welcome! Happens at Flywheel. 43 Main Street (Old Town Hall). Easthampton, MA (>$)
Saturday, March 16th from 9am-3pm – MAPLE SUGARING: Celebrate a delicious New England tradition at the town of Chester’s 28th annual Maple Fest! Start the day with a pancake breakfast at the First Congregational Church. Then, spend the rest of the day learning all about maple sugaring (you can even take a wagon ride to the High Meadows Sugarhouse), visiting with farm animals, listening to live music from the Pioneer Valley Fiddlers, and more. There will be food available all day long, just in case you miss the pancakes! Skyline Trail. Chester, MA. ($)
Sunday, March 17th at 11:30am – ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE: Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Western MA’s most Irish city! The Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade includes floats, dancers, and other performers from local groups and marches all over the city! Holyoke, MA. (FREE)
BULLETIN BOARD
March 17
Are you hungry for something to do this Sunday? Head to The Eric Carle Museum to celebrate The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day on March 17th from 12noon-5pm. Make your own caterpillars from found objects in the Art Studio. Join special story times. Meet the Very Hungry Caterpillar in costume and get a caterpillar tattoo. There will be caterpillar cookies, giveaways & a sale in The Carle Bookshop. Translated in over 50 languages, and celebrated a world over, The Very Hungry Caterpillar is universally known as one of the greatest childhood classics of all time. Bring a picnic lunch & spend the day! For more info visit www.carlemuseum.org or call 413-658-1100. 125 West Bay Road. Amherst, MA (FREE with Museum Admission)
March 22
ArtSpark, dance party and auction to benefit the Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School, Friday March 22nd, 7 to 11 p.m. at Look Park’s Garden House in Florence, MA. Music by the O-Tones, food, cash bar, silent and live auction with eclectic mix of handcrafted furniture, art, local business gift certificates, travel, and one-of-a-kind events up for bid. Tickets $20, available at Cooper’s Corner, State Street Fruit Store, the Creamery and at the door. For more information, 413-268-3421.
RH Conwell Community School of Worthington, MA is accepting applications for the 2013-2014 school year with openings in all classes from Pre-K through 6th grade. Located in the heart of the Hilltowns of Western MA, Conwell is an affordable private school with a supportive environment, offering a rigorous, encouraging, and developmentally appropriate program to all students. Children are taught to think creatively, read critically, and reason logically. Conwell has a high level of parent and community involvement in both classroom and after school activities. Students are valued as individuals and learning plans are tailored to meet their needs and learning styles. For more information visit online at www.conwellcec.org or call 413-238-5856.
MARKET YOUR SUMMER CAMP: In an effort to connect families with summer camps & programs in the region, Hilltown Families is offering camps and programs a chance to partner with us in their online marketing with a special enhanced publicity offer. On Sunday, March 24th, Hilltown Families will be featuring camps in the region on Hilltown Families with a special post titled: 2013 Summer Camps and Programs in Western MA. Find out more about our marketing package and early bird discounts HERE.
ADVERTISE HERE: Reach thousands of families in Western MA while supporting the community development work of Hilltown Families! See your community event, open house, auditions, afterschool class, homeschool program, workshop, school, wellness program or business featured here in the bulletin board section of our list of Weekly Suggested Events and eNewsletter, reaching thousands of families living throughout the four counties of Western MA! Find out more about our enhanced publicity packages and options and how we can help with your online marketing by emailing us at hilltownfamilies@gmail.com.
Habitat for Humanity is beginning some new local projects – and the organization is searching for families to become new homeowners! There will be projects taking place in Northampton, Easthampton, and Turners Falls, and families who are able to make small mortgage payments and participate in the home’s construction are encouraged to apply. Learn more about the opportunities available and how to be successful in the application project on Saturday. March 16th from 10am-12noon at Greenfield Savings Bank (282 Avenue A.) in Turners Falls, MA. (FREE)
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Enter for a chance to win tickets!
Next Saturday, March 23rd from 10am-2pm – SUSTAINABILITY: A Community Resiliency Summit at the Cummington Community House. This is a wonderful opportunity for families to network and find opportunities to get engaged in the community. Open to all, regardless of geography. Panels are planned on the topics “Food, Farm & Local Economy” and “Strengthening Local Institutions & Planning for Emergencies.” Lunch will be provided by the Village Church, followed by networking and discussions about steps we can take as a community to strengthen resiliency. Child-care will be provided. Pre-register if possible. 413-634-5005. 33 Main Street. Cummington, MA (FREE)
Next Sunday, March 24th from 12noon-4pm: MUSEUM ADVENTURES: There’s more to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute than its magnificent paintings. Celebrate the remarkable diversity and beauty of decorative arts in the collection—from elaborate works of silver and elegant furniture to charming teacups and colorful glass objects—at a free Decorative Arts Family Day. The day’s program offers plenty of fun for parents and children alike. Music, demonstrations, and art projects are just some of the activities that will highlight the decorative arts in the Clark’s collection. 413-458-2303. 225 South Street. Willamstown, MA (FREE)
On Friday, April 5th from 4-7pm: ACT OF KINDNESS: Flowers for Friends: A Free Family Friday Night Event at The Art Garden with Hilltown Families. Sign up to bring your kids and come join your neighbors in a free community art event, painting terracotta flower pots to plant with pansies and then pass along to those in your community. With the idea of spreading kindness and beauty, families are encouraged to pass their posies along to an elder in their neighborhood, or their librarian, classroom teacher, receptionist at the hospital or animal shelter, or other community space of their choice. Space is limited. Must pre-register. Shelburne Falls, MA (FREE)
LIST OF WEEKLY SUGGESTED EVENTS
March 16th-22nd, 2013
Suggest an Event | Forecast | Museum Passes | Weekly eNewsletter
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LOCAL FOOD: Crimson & Clover Farm is happy to announce that 2012 CSA Shares are now available! Located at the Northampton Community Farm, right near downtown Florence, Crimson & Clover Farm raises a wide variety of delicious, beautiful, and sustainably grown fruits and vegetables for our 20 week CSA program. As a community based farm we offer a welcoming environment where our members and their families can come and enjoy this amazing community resource as well as receive nutritious locally grown food. In addition to vegetables we also offer a variety of locally produced products for sale through our farm store. For more information about the CSA and how to become a member of the farm please visit our website: 
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS: RH Conwell Community School of Worthingon, MA is accepting applications for the 2012-13 school year with openings in all classes from Pre-K through 6th grade. Located in the heart of the Hilltowns of Western MA, Conwell is an affordable private school with a supportive environment, offering a rigorous, encouraging, and developmentally appropriate program to all students. Children are taught to think creatively, read critically, and reason logically. Conwell has a high level of parent and community involvement in both classroom and after school activities where students are valued as individuals and tailor learning plans to their needs and learning styles. For more information visit online at 
Music
St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, responsible, we are told, for converting the pagan Irish to Christianity. He used the shamrock to illustrate how three separate leaves united by one stem resembled the Trinity. To this day the shamrock, the emblem of Ireland, is proudly worn on March 17th.
This winter has been the longest, coldest, dreariest, one yet … for me. There’s nothing like a real New England winter to kick one’s caboose! And this train my friends has been derailed! BUT … hope is in the air! The spring equinox happens this week and my family has already seen signs of spring. I saw a robin the other day in Holyoke and welled up with tears. My daughter saw a ladybug in the snow in Williamsburg this week and she told me she was crying too (hmmm, where does she get that from?). Plus we saw spring bulbs pushing their way up out of the ground outside of the Butterfly Museum last weekend in Deerfield, and the trees in Chesterfield have BUDS! — HOPE IS HERE FAMILIES! 
Events Happening in the Hilltowns
